There were many points throughout the packet that stuck out to me, either because they were new or I had never paid attention to them and how they effected the structure or meaning of the story as a whole. One point was when it said, "Guard against the temptation to assume that the narrator is the author...there is always some distance between the author and narrator". I can't say I've ever taken into consideration this distance between the two components and how much it could change the story. Through these narrators is how the author relays the story but some might not be as reliable as we perceive them to be. The closer they are, the more accurate the story but the farther, the more distorted it becomes. That is something I would want to take note of when analyzing the structure of the story. A second point, and one that is completely new to me is, "When an event can't be explained by whatever preceded it, ask why the author withheld that information". This is actually a very good point because I had never thought to back track the events to take note of what the author's purpose was or what they wanted to create.Third, and the one that I can never get right, is the meaning of the work as a whole. "Themes are truths-as the writer sees them- about life, so a statement of theme will never mention characters or details from a work BECAUSE THOSE ELEMENTS ARE FICTIONAL". That makes so much sense and I wish I knew that before. I always try to relate what's in the text to the real world but completely disregard that what's in the text isn't in the real world.
One thing I think I could still work on is how to actually break down the text so that I could be able to analyze the different elements that compose it. Rather than what happens in the beginning, and the end. Another thing is not just being able to see what the author does, but also being able to see why they do it and the ability to clearly explain the purpose behind it. "No what without why".
One skill I feel I know very well is noting the pace and rhythm of the text as well as the changes within it.
